ella

faded by the next afternoon, replaced by t

cing in front of the fireplace was my younger brother, Luca. His knuckle

amber bourbon. "I made sure every ear in Little Italy heard the truth. I painted Jason exactly as he is-a weak, ho

ncy, and Luca was bankrupting Jason's. But the memory of my past life-the cold, calculatin

r, stumbled into the room. Her face was ashen, her hands trembling so vio

ed, her eyes darting nervously toward my m

ommanded, not looking u

ed lie." Maria swallowed hard, looking at me with a mixture of pity and shee

thly silence. Luca froze, his

other whispered, her nee

ar, but her womb remains empty. They say Jason loves her so deeply that he couldn't bear to see her cast aside. So, he... he made the u

ary duty was to provide heirs. A barren princess was a broken commodity, utterly worthless on the marriage market. Elena hadn't just defended

ra

e hearth. Sofia Falcone rose to her feet, her beautiful

fury. "Marco! Call the Soldiers! I want that Vance bitch and her mother dragged

lass down. "I'll g

hrough the rising storm. I stood up

yes blazing. "They have stripped you of you

my five years as a wandering ghost. "Think, Mama. If we send Soldiers to slaughter them now, what will the Five Families see? Th

t the lethal logic of my

g closer to her. "They want us to lose

a demanded, his fists clenched. "We can

deniable proof," I said, my mind already racing ahead to t

e parlor. The air in the hallway was thick, but my mind was crystal

he future Advisor, a man who understood the intricate dance of law and evidence. I needed his brilliant mind to secure the proof of my innoce

s knob and steppe